1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to navigation devices and, more specifically, to a navigation device which displays landmarks together with a guidance route.
2. Description of the Background Art
A conventional type of navigation device typically equipped in a vehicle generally guides a driver by indicating him/her, by name, at which intersection the driver is supposed to turn, or the distance to the intersection. The issue here is that the driver may not easily find the indicated intersection on a display when his/her vehicle is far therefrom. Also, if guided as xe2x80x9cXX meters to the intersectionxe2x80x9d, the driver may not intuitively grasp the actual distance to the intersection. Therefore, the driver may find it difficult to estimate in advance the rough location of the intersection. As such, guidance by the conventional navigation device is often difficult to follow.
To get around such a problem, the recent type of navigation device displays various facilities located around the intersection, and makes use of those as landmarks when guiding vehicles. For example, guidance is made as xe2x80x9ctake a right turn at the post office, go straight until you locate the gas station, and then take a left turn therexe2x80x9d.
Generally, those landmarks used in such conventional navigation device are in the form of plain, still image elements. Thus those landmarks look monotonous and applicability thereof is quite limited.
As to those landmarks, information thereabout is required to be accurate in route guidance, and is usually stored in media such as CDs and DVDs. The issue here is that those landmarks do not remain the same, for example, a gas station may move, be closed, or any other new gas station may be opened. In order to keep up with such changes, the medium having landmark information stored therein needs to be frequently replaced. However, such frequent replacement is practically difficult in terms of the users"" financial standing, and consequently the reliability of the landmark information in the conventional navigation device is low.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a navigation device in which landmarks are much less monotonous, and the applicability thereof is thus wider.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a navigation device which can easily update landmark information to be the latest, and accordingly guidance made therein is always accurate.
The present invention has the following features to attain the objects above.
A first aspect of the present invention is directed to a navigation device displaying landmarks together with a guidance route on a map, the device comprising:
a cartographic data storage part for storing cartographic data;
a landmark information storage part for storing landmark information;
an output part for at least outputting, for display, information needed for guidance;
an input part for receiving positional information needed at least for route search;
a route search part for searching for the guidance route on the cartographic data in response to the positional information from the input part;
a display state determination part for determining, as to each of the landmarks on the guidance route found by the route search part, between normal display and emphatic display; and
a display control part for bringing the output part to display the map based on the cartographic data read from the cartographic data storage part, to display the found guidance route on the displayed map, and to appropriately place and display the landmarks on the displayed map, wherein
the display control part determines between normal display and emphatic display for each of the landmarks depending on a determination made by the display state determination part.
As described above, in the first aspect, landmarks on a guidance route are determined by display status between normal display and emphatic display before the landmarks are displayed. Accordingly, the landmarks look much less monotonous, and the applicability thereof is extended.
According to a second aspect, further to the first aspect,
the landmark information includes display information about the landmarks for emphatic display in the format of an execution file, and
the display control part interprets and executes the execution file to bring the output part to emphatically display the landmarks.
As described above, in the second aspect, the output part follows thus interpreted and executed instructions described in an execution file of the landmark information to emphatically display landmarks. Therefore, by rewriting those instructions in the execution file, the landmarks can be emphatically displayed in various manners easily.
According to a third aspect, further to the second aspect,
in the execution file included in the landmark information, a group of instructions are described to animate the landmarks.
As described above, in the third aspect, the landmarks are animated according to the instructions described in the execution file.
According to a fourth aspect, further to the first aspect,
the landmark information includes attribute information which defines the landmarks by attribute, and
the display state determination part comprises:
a real-time information acquisition part for acquiring real-time information as a variable parameter; and
a determination part for determining between normal display and emphatic display based on the real-time information acquired by the real-time information acquisition part and the attribute information stored in the landmark information.
As described above, in the fourth aspect, the landmarks are defined by attribute and real-time information is referred to before determining between normal display and emphatic display. Therefore, the landmarks can be displayed in various manners depending on circumstances.
According to a fifth aspect, further to the fourth aspect,
the attribute information includes type information indicating each of the landmarks by type, and
the determination part determines between normal display and emphatic display based on real-time information acquired by the real-time information acquisition part and the type information in the attribute information.
As described above, in the fifth aspect, the landmark type is the attribute used as the determination factor for emphatic display.
According to a sixth aspect, further to the first aspect, the navigation device further comprises:
a landmark information acquisition part for acquiring a latest landmark information coming from outside through communications; and
an update part for bringing the landmark information storage part to store the landmark information provided by the landmark information acquisition part as the latest landmark information.
As described above, in the sixth aspect, the landmark information storage part stores the landmark information provided by the landmark information acquisition part as to be the latest.
A seventh aspect of the present invention is directed to a navigation device displaying landmarks together with a guidance route on a map, the device comprising:
a cartographic data storage part for storing cartographic data;
a landmark information storage part for storing landmark information;
an output part for at least outputting, for display, information needed for guidance;
an input part for receiving positional information needed at least for route search;
a route search part for searching for the guidance route on the cartographic data in response to the positional information from the input part;
a display control part for bringing the output part to display the map based on the cartographic data read from the cartographic data storage part, to display the found guidance route on the displayed map, and to appropriately place and display the landmarks on the displayed map;
a landmark information acquisition part for acquiring a latest landmark information coming from outside through communications; and
an update part for bringing the landmark information storage part to store the landmark information provided by the landmark information acquisition part as the latest.
These and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.